2009

A year when books were winning (Five Simple Steps published A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web by Mark Boulton and Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman and Ethan Marcotte reached its third edition) and the web was losing (Yahoo! closed Geocities). Significant progress was made with web fonts and HTML5, and 24 ways delivered the Christmas gifts again.

Meagan Fisher tackles the issue of designing in the browser head on by looking at some of the practicalities of ditching Photoshop and setting your foundations markup. Sorry Photoshop, it’s not me, it’s you.

Andrew Clarke shares a case study highlighting the benefits of progressively enhanced web design. Ever wondered how to convince your clients to let you use cutting edge web techniques? It may be simpler than you think.

Jeffrey Zeldman steps back and takes a long hard look at the issue of cross-platform web font rendering quality. It can feel like Christmas morning with the array of font options available – but are we opening Pandora’s box?

Jina Bolton encourages us to stop and take stock and make sure that we’re getting the most out of all the work we’re putting in. Does your work make you happy, and if not, how do we change things for the better?

Rachel Andrew illustrates how, as more modern browsers come online, CSS3 selectors can be used to get some of the junk out of our front and back-end code, and how JavaScript can be used to provide a fall back for older browsers.

Jonathan Snook picks up our theme of font embedding with some ideas on how to reduce font download sizes and load time to lessen the impact of the Flash Of Unstyled Text. The less flashing the better, if you ask me.

Elliot Jay Stocks thinks you should have a pet project on the go, and dammit if he’s not about to tell you why. Of course, this very site is a pet project which is explicitly just for Christmas, but we’re prepared to overlook that. As you were.

Christian Heilmann uses the Yahoo! Query Language to assert that we already have a content management system in the form of the web. YQL unifies interfaces and combines requests to make working with APIs much easier.

Mark Boulton uncovers some ugly truths about font embedding on the web, but being the nice chap that he is, doesn’t leave without teaching us all how we can overcome them through careful typeface selection.

Natalie Downe segues seamlessly onto the subject of CSS 3 transforms and transitions with some examples of how a little CSS magic and a modern browser can bring what might otherwise be a flat layout to life.

David Greiner offers invaluable insight into building HTML emails. Just like HTML for the web, email requires an intimate understanding of the software used to view your work. Allow Dave to share from his wealth of experience.

Ross Bruniges demonstrates a way JavaScript can be used during the development phase to highlight errors in the markup as they occur. By constructing simple tests you can spot problems fast and fix them before they become an issue.

Jeremy Keith issues a call to arms over how passages of dialogue are marked up in HTML, and more specifically, in HTML5. Stand firm, good designers and developers of the web, and don’t let poorly worded specs lead the people astray!

Mike Kus get us fired up with some ideas on how to think beyond the web when embarking on a new project. Inspiration is often hard to come by – learn how not to fall into the trap of churning out another identical web design.

Patrick H. Lauke returns our focus to accessibility, and in particular to styling sites to be usable by visitors browsing with something other than a mouse. All this, whilst still maintaining aesthetic appeal.

Relly Annett-Baker turns our minds to the oft-neglected subject of website copy, and how the small things you say can have a big impact on your customers, revenues, fame, fortune and luck with the opposite sex.

Dan Mall shows us one technique to combat blank-page syndrome by demonstrating how design inspiration can be taken from the typefaces we use. So put down your pencils, reach for your composing stick and let the type do the talking.

Trevor Morris runs us through how JavaScript can be designed to take its configuration directly from your markup. Using the model of a jQuery plugin, learn how adding a simple class name can control how your code functions.

Bruce Lawson takes us a little further down the rabbit hole of HTML5. This week we’ve seen a glimpse of some of the great stuff coming, but how much of it can we start using right away? Luckily we have Bruce on hand to explain.

Paul Boag challenges us to think about what makes our sites successful, which has interesting implications on how resources are spent. I once asked my aunt what makes her Christmas pud successful, and when I found out I never ate there again.

Inayaili de León introduces some of the new form field types available in HTML5, and then goes on to look at some more advanced CSS3 techniques which can be used to keep your forms looking sharp and ship shape.

Remy Sharp takes us by the hand and guides us through our first steps into the web applications side HTML5 with a look at web storage and offline applications. You’ll need a nice modern browser and some Kendal Mint Cake.

Drew McLellan kicks off our 2009 season with a look at some of the tools CSS3 provides for applying levels of transparency to colour values, enabling you to avoid weighing down a site design with heavy PNG images.